MotoGP Jerez: 'Better than expected' for Marquez

3 May 2013

Marc Marquez enjoyed a 'better than expected' day at Jerez as the Repsol Honda rider finish fifth fastest on the time sheets.

Marquez's best lap of 1m 39.889s left him within 0.327s of Jorge Lorenzo's benchmark time and the Austin MotoGP winner was more than satisfied with his progress following the first two free practice sessions of the weekend.

The Spaniard tested the harder rear Bridgestone tyre in the afternoon, but posted his best time after reverting back to the softer option.

“Today was the first day of practice here in Jerez and everything went pretty well,” said the series rookie.

“Yesterday I said in the press conference that it would be a little difficult at this track but, to tell the truth, things went better for me here than I was expecting.

“We have grown stronger with every lap and I think that the key is to keep calm.

“In the morning it was a little difficult to control my nerves, but later I tried to calm down and follow our normal strategy.

“Tomorrow we will have to focus in order to improve, as the rest of the riders will be going all-out.”